Both the PGA Tour and Tiger's agent denied the suggestion that
anyone was pressured.

The Players Championship and the course it's played on are owned
by the Tour.

However, even if no one explicitly asked Tiger to play this
weekend – or went out of their way remind him that the PGA is one
of the few organizations to support him during his scandals last
year – Woods has to be aware of exactly how much he owes Tour
officials.

Remember his apologetic press conference last year? That was at
PGA headquarters, the same place where The Players is held this
week.

And in the aftermath of his indiscretions, Tiger did promise to
play in more PGA events, honor more of his official commitments,
cut out the temper tantrums, and generally being more cooperative
with officials and the media. That's a bargain
he hasn't been able to uphold, mostly due to his injuries.

There's no question that Tiger returned too quickly from his
Masters injuries and probably
shouldn't have been anywhere near Sawgrass this weekend. But
the PGA didn't pressure him to return quickly. They didn't have
to.

He's well aware of the debt he owes them ... and how much he
still has left to pay back.